New Version of a "Recommended" Favorite

Includes Upgraded Carbon Fiber Tonearm

Music Hall's original MMF-9 turntable won a "Recommended Component" rating in the April 2005 issue of Stereophile for its "tight, fast, and punchy" sound, plus considerable value for the money.

So what does Music Hall do for an encore? How about upgrading, enhancing, and improving an already great turntable with a new tonearm. That's exactly what you get with the MMF-9.1

Here's the goods on the latest goodies. The MMF-9.1 gets updated with a Pro-Ject 9cc one-piece carbon fiber tonearm with superior rigidity and low resonance. The headshell and armtube are one piece of carbon fiber.

Pinnacle of the Product Line

Music Hall's MMF-9.1 precision turntable is the pinnacle of the MMF product line. Yet it remains surprisingly affordable for all the features and performance that it packs into its sleek design. The MMF-9.1 easily competes with competitive models costing hundreds of dollars more. In fact, we know of no other turntable that costs as much to produce yet sells for so little!

"You would need to spend a lot more money to get any significant improvement in sound quality," raves Ron Nagle on th eoriginal MMF-9 in the December 2004 issue of The Stereo Times. "Strictly using a performance-to-price ratio this is a very good deal and for the majority of audiophiles the only turntable you will ever need."

The two-speed, belt-driven MMF-9.1 boasts a sophisticated three-plinth design using four Sorbothane 'spring' hemispheres between each plinth which act as a suspension and isolation system that reduces resonance to the vanishing point. The bottom plinth has three adjustable spiked feet and two phono outputs, while the top platform incorporates a spirit level for easy set-up.

Isolated Motor with 50 Hz Option

The external motor is situated at the front, left corner of the turntable and rests in a cutout where it is completely isolated from the 'table. The position of the motor diagonally opposite the arm reduces any vibrations caused by the motor or belt so that they do not enter the cartridge. Turntable speed changes from 33-1/3 to 45 rpm with the push of a button. The motor includes an electronic speed control that locks in the speed of the motor. The motor runs at 50 Hz instead of 60 Hz. The lower motor frequency brings the added benefit of ultra-quiet operation.

The belt runs around the perimeter of the 1"-thick acrylic platter. Acrylic was chosen for its superior sound quality and isolation properties. The platter sits on an incredibly quiet inverted ceramic bearing.

I purchased the Music Hall MMF9.1 with the Goldring line contact low output moving coil cartridge following the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show.
My older table is an AR ES1 with a sapphire thrust bearing and a Jelco tonearm. I had listened to a wealth of excellent tables at the CES and had been impressed the prior year with the 9.1. The motor is completely isolated from the plinth and the plinth has 3 layers, each with Sorbothane isolation between the layers. The tonearm is a 9 inch carbon fiber single piece arm made by Project, who I believe makes this table to Music Halls design. Sonically the table has a very wide, deep soundstage with lots of inner detail. The bass, mids and high frequencies have excellent speed and transparency while creating no sense of strain or fatigue. The table is silent, and immune to acoustic feedback and floor bumps. In this regard, it surpasses the AR. It also has more inner detail than the AR, which is still a great table. Frankly, its hard to find fault with this product, highly recommended.